Dodgers season-ticket sales rise

After a price cut is announced, a 'steady increase' in sales is noted.

Empty seats were a common sight at Dodger Stadium in 2011. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles…)

Did Frank McCourt's decision to sell the Dodgers spur fans to sign up for season tickets?

That's debatable. But the team says reduced prices did the trick.

The Dodgers' season-ticket sales are up 30% from this time last year, according to a person familiar with the team's business but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

David Siegel, the Dodgers' senior director of ticket sales, said there had been "no discernible bump" in sales in the days after last week's announcement that McCourt would sell the team.

Siegel said the Dodgers had experienced a "steady increase" in sales since the team announced price cuts two weeks ago, with a 50% increase in revenue over the first four days of ticket sales.

However, according to the person familiar with the team's business, McCourt's sale announcement triggered a wave of calls from fans interested in buying tickets and receiving assurances the reduced prices for 2012 would be honored by a new owner.

"It's obvious that some of the people who said, 'I'm not coming back if there's not an ownership change' have followed through," the person said.

The Dodgers sold about 17,000 season tickets in 2011, down from about 27,000 four years ago.